Detroit's Cobo Center through the years

Detroit Mayor Albert Cobo announces he will not seek re-election Feb. 14, 1956. He died in 1957, without ever seeing the convention center he had envisioned completed.

The keystone section of Cobo Hall is lowered into place on Feb. 21, 1958. The exhibition hall was renamed Cobo Conference/Exhibition Center in 1989.

An artist's rendering for Cobo from April 1951.

Officials look at plans for the convention hall amid construction on Sept. 26, 1957.

Girders rest in front of Detroit skyscrapers during Cobo Hall's construction on Feb. 13, 1958.

A grid of steel beams forms the structure of Cobo Arena, adjacent to Cobo Hall, on June 8, 1958. The structure supposedly is located on the spot where Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac landed from the Detroit River in 1701 and claimed the area for France.

Another photo from Cobo Hall's construction on Aug. 6, 1958.

Local dignitaries take part in the dedication of Cobo Hall on Oct. 13, 1960.

Crowds gather for a public dedication on Oct. 20, 1960. The 12,000-seat Cobo Arena, left, attached to the Cobo Center and has been the scene of countless concerts, sporting events, graduation ceremonies and political rallies during its lifetime.

Cobo has been home to many exhibits and expositions; here, butchers display their trade on Oct. 21, 1960.

Cobo telephone operators work the switchboard on Oct. 8, 1961.

Crowds gather outside Cobo along the Detroit River for the Freedom Festival on July 2, 1964.

Young Detroiters dance at a debutante ball in Cobo on May 23, 1962.

Michigan Republicans gather at Cobo in 1962, the year George Romney was elected governor of the state.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gives his original "I Have a Dream" speech in Cobo Arena on June 23, 1963, during the city's March for Freedom. Since its opening, Cobo has drawn politicians and organizers from across the spectrum.

Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater speaks at Cobo Arena on Sept. 29, 1964.

Lady Bird Johnson waves to fans with her husband, President Lyndon B. Johnson, left, at Cobo in 1966.

United Auto Workers President Walter Reuther addresses the UAW convention at Cobo on April 20, 1967.

President Lyndon B. Johnson attends the VFW convention on Aug. 21, 1968. Daughter Luci Nugent is at left, and the president is holding his grandson Pat Nugent Jr.

Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, left, appears with Michigan Gov. George Romney at Cobo on Oct. 18, 1968.

The Carl Milles sculpture "Spirit of Transportation," depicting a man carrying a canoe, is seen in 1970. Originally installed in front of Cobo Center, it was relocated to the North Atrium in 1993 and moved again in 2015 to the Atwater entrance of Cobo Center, facing the Detroit River.

Detroit's Cobo Hall is shown five years after it opened on July 24, 1965.

The interior of Cobo Arena is shown on June 25, 1963.

The Detroit Auto Show at Cobo Center is seen in 1963. Now known as the North American International Auto Show, it has been Cobo's biggest annual event since the 1960s.

The Detroit Auto Show in 1966.

A stuntman dives from Cobo's roof on Dec. 30, 1975.

Entertainer Arthur Godfrey rides Goldie the horse at Cobo Arena on Dec. 1, 1972.

Cobo Arena becomes a temporary stable before a rodeo is hosted there on Jan. 14, 1981.

A hockey game is played in Cobo Arena on Oct. 12, 1974. The World Hockey Association Michigan Stags played at Cobo for the 1974-75 season. The arena also was home to the Detroit Pistons from 1961 to 1978.

Crowds gather on the riverfront in July 1971 before the Freedom Festival fireworks show.

Bob Seger performed two shows in September 1975 at Cobo Center that were recorded for the album "Live Bullet."

Madonna performs at Cobo Arena during her "Like a Virgin" tour, May 25, 1985. Part of that album was recorded at Cobo.

Someone polishes a hot rod at Autorama on Jan. 8, 1982. The annual custom car show has been staged there since 1961.

A builder smokes a cigar while working on Cobo's expansion on Sept. 14, 1986.

A photo of Cobo's expansion from the 1980s.

Work continues on the Cobo expansion on Nov. 13, 1986.

Construction workers complete the glass roof on Sept. 10, 1987.

Workers finish Cobo's exterior facade on Oct. 13, 1988.

Helicopters take off at the Cobo Hall heliport on Oct. 13, 1988.

The Cobo Center heliport is shown on Oct. 13, 1988.

Cobo hosted the Detroit Home Flower, Furniture and Garden Show on March 20, 1989.

Workers move trees into place at the Detroit Home Flower, Furniture and Garden Show on March 20, 1991.

The interior of the newly renovated Cobo Center, Jan. 27, 1989.

People walk past the statue of Joe Louis near the entrance to Cobo Center on Aug. 24, 1990. The center was expanded in the 1980s.

A worker puts finishing touches on a sign in Cobo on June 29, 1992.

Jack Huang competes in a ping pong championship at Cobo on Nov. 29, 1992.

Rapper Jay-Z performs Oct. 4, 2008, during a free concert in support of Barack Obama at Cobo Center in Detroit.

KISS members,from left, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Tommy Thayer (in the role of Ace Frehley) perform at Cobo Arena on Sept. 25, 2009. Legendary rock-n-roll band KISS returned to Cobo to kick off their KISS Alive 35 tour. Much of the band's "Alive!" album, which launched them to superstardom, was recorded during concerts at Cobo Arena in 1975.

William Osborn of Flushing, 2, takes over the helm under the watchful eyes his grandfather Tim Martenies of Waterford during the 52nd Annual Boat Show at Cobo Center on Feb. 13, 2010.

Erin Welsh of Plymouth admires a Lexus LF-LC concept during the Charity Preview for the North American International Auto Show at Cobo Center on Jan. 13, 2012.

In 2013, the interior of Cobo Arena was gutted and replaced with a 50,000-square-foot ballroom, one step in a $299 million makeover of the facility.

Tables are set up at the entrance to the Grand Ballroom as the Cobo Center unveils it renovations on Sept. 07, 2013.

The Grand Ballroom, seen at its Sept. 07, 2013 opening, has hosted business and charity events, police graduation ceremonies, political rallies and other special events.